Hempnall FC

Once again the manager was left scratching his head after late call offs, but after a great deal of effort, managed to get another couple of players to sign on and turn out, and thanks to Louis Witham and Reece Mulley for playing at short notice.

The manager left himself on the bench, and whilst the side still lacks their top player and captain. Nobbs, Hempnall hoped they would compete well against a mid table North Walsham.

After the first few minutes, we were asking ourselves how North Walsham are mid table, as they are to my mind the best team other than Waveney that we have seen at Bungay Road.

Whilst Hempnall were somewhat fragmented as a team due to new players and others playing out of position, North Walsham were speedy, decisive and positive, and it was soon evident that Hempnall may be in for a difficult afternoon, and so it proved, with the opposition’s star player, Liam Jackson, destroying the defence to score 6 goals, taking his tally, apparently, to 37 goals this season. Their other goals were from Dale Wilton (2) and Daniel Reynolds.

Walsham scored one of the goals of the season following a stunning move to plant the final nail after a wonderful pass from their centre back who must be among the best in the league, his distribution was as good as his defensive play.

Enough about North Walsham, all of whom stayed after for our hospitality, and even managed to win the card (!). They certainly look as though they can try for promotion if they can keep their players fit, and the best of luck to them.

Surprisingly, after Cameron Mulley was injured and retired from the game, Hempnall decided to play some very decent football, using the width after pushing Lambe forward to combine with Etherington and Kelly. Had they done this earlier rather than looking for Mulley at every opportunity, we may have had a closer game, but in fairness to the players, with a team that changes dramatically from week to week, a consistent approach is hard to find.

Etherington had a fine game in Hempnall’s midfield with Lambe coming alive when taking a more forward role and Hempnall showed, in patches, that they can play, and when going forward, looked, on occasions, threatening.

The other stand out performance, despite leaking 9 goals, was the goalkeeper, Spillane, who pulled off several good saves, but we just have to admit, North Walsham were just too good.

Despite the heavy defeat, the positivity in the bar afterwards was tangible, and whatever the final outcome of the season, we on the sidelines sincerely hope the lads will enjoy their football at Hempnall in future seasons.